Who will win the Champions League this season ('12-'13)

And I am sick of the same argument of the best midfielders in the world. Xavi hasn't 'assisted' Messi in like 2 years. And Iniesta received more passes from Messi than the other way around. There is no conversation. Messi is the best player in the world, with or without Barcelona, with or without Guardiola, with or without Ronaldo fans bitching at him.

Not to mention that Ronaldo has bloody Ozil, Di Maria, Alonso, Essien or Modric play behind him. Tough to beat that. Not saying Ronaldo isn't a great player, cause he is, but Messi plays in a league with gods.

It doesn't matter anyway. It's not players who win tournaments but teams. Look at Chelsea last season. And this season it will be BAYERN (who has the players AND the team)

Right! Bayern won its group. Well done.
Cluj (my hometown) beat Man United and still didn't qualify, with 10 bloody points. Unfortunate! They should have done better against Galatasaray at home.

CHELSEA is out! That just shows that there is some form of justice in football. Freakin' Chelski!

AND - for the first time, it seems like Messi has been severely injured. Didn't think that was possible. Curious to see how Barcelona will cope with this but it might just be Real's chance to come back in the Primera Division.

My predictions for the 2nd half of the tournament remain. Barca, Bayern, Real, Dortmund. If they don't play against each other before, these teams will play in the semi-finals.

Yeah that is some tough shit for Cluj, 10 points is almost a guarantee too. Bayern are not good enough this season I don't think, although Dortmund could be the ones to watch, they didn't just win the group, they were comfortably better than all the other sides in it.

Let's look at some of the contenders.

Barcelona: Well they seem to be a machine, a art gets removed (Guardiola) and just gets replaced with another part. It is the typical season, they will be the team to beat. Although it has been shown in recent years that a tough defensive display by top class players (not the shit they face in La Liga every week) can stop them. Inter, Chelsea, Celtic spring to mind, and of course there is the fact that no team has ever defended the Champions League, there is a reason for that.

Madrid: I had them as favourites at the start but the poor start to the season and Mourinho's battle with Perez has probably left them broken until they make a change in the summer. I think Bayern, Dortmund, Barca, and United could all beat them if on form this season.

Dortmund: Tactics and a clear vision of how they play will make them a threat to aybody, at least the semis for me.

Man Utd: Playing pretty crap all-round, but if Sir Ferguson can fix the midfield (at least with consistency) then the attack is good enough to reach another final. however, they will ALWAYS lose to Barcelona, simply because Ferguson will try to fight fire with fire and attack them. Wrong move.

Arsenal: Have the pedigree in the competition and play decent football, but just do not have the balls or the quality this season to make a dent. Out next round.

Bayern: Just a very good team from back to front. The midfield can be devastating, especially if they can get the ball to Ribery or Robben in space, they have the best goalkeeper in the world too, and from I have been told, Muller is in form. Still think the semis is the best they will do.

The rest: Milan can never be written off and are growing into the season, but they will not win it.

Juventus: See above

The rest are not going to win it, although PSG could prove dark horses, especially if they spunk money at it in January. Shakatar will not be an easy team to bypass either, and Valencia are always capable of a shock too.

Well, they didn't win it last season so more to grab this year!

Bayern are definitely stronger this season than they were last. They are 11 points ahead of Dortmund in the Bundesliga and I believe that does say a lot. Had you watched the direct game, they deserved to win it. It was just Roman Weidenfeller who saved a couple of 1000% percent chances. Whether they are strong enough to beat Barcelona, I don't know. But I can't see beyond them, and I am not saying it because I am fanboy. They just have so much depth and breadth in their squad, no one else quite has that. Not even Real Madrid.

Also, Barcelona and Bayern have been THE best two teams over the last 3-4 years. This SHOULD be the final but I believe they will meet in the semis, unfortunately.

What an interesting draw then. Hoping to see Bayern Munich at Arsenal.
Funnily enough, I think this is it for English teams in the Champions League this season. I don't see United beat Real Madrid and certainly don't see Arsenal beat Bayern Munich.

Who would have seen that one coming a couple of years ago when English teams were easily getting 2 or even 3 teams to the semis.

Otherwise, Barcelona v. Milan will be a classic, 11 cups amongst them. Milan are not in the best shape at the moment, but they are AC Milan, the greatest European team of the last 30 years, so who knows. Might pull a surprise...or a miracle really (5% chance).

An interesting one to watch will be Donetsk vs. Dortmund. Both were somewhat underdog contenders for the title. Having seen Dortmund play the last couple of games, I still think they are. Donetsk is coached by one of my heroes, Mircea Lucescu, one of the finest football players and greatest coaches that my favourite Romanian team ever produced. He is a fox really and has been building pressure on referees for the last couple of years already, which might be still a slight advantage against Dortmund who are young and hungry, but still rather inexperienced in Europe.

Interesting to follow! Bring it on the new year!

Riiiight….just got back from the Emirates Stadium. What a great evening.
I knew beforehand that Arsenal wasn't real opposition, but it was fun to watch nonetheless.

ein Schuss ein Tor die BAAAYERN die BAAAAAYYEEEEERRRNNN

What I am surprised, and I say it again, is how civilised and nice Arsenal fans are. I was in a middle of a frenetic crowd of Arsenal fans and could still not abstain from celebrating and applauding. They were congratulating me even though they had no idea who I was. Compare that to Manchester United fans last time Bayern kicked out United. Needed security protection to get me out of that sportsbar.

Anyway - very good stuff. Curious who we draw for the quarters and the semis!
Bring it on, it's just Barca who I'd want to avoid up to the final.

Edit: Yes, after the 3-1 I did start singing…It's cooooming home it's cooooming. Foootball's coming home!'

Can someone explain to me what Wenger needs to do to get the sack? Run the club down to the ground.....?

I'm not quite sure why people blame it all on Wenger. Surely, having to sell your talent every year is what made Arsenal go downhill. Plus, you might remember, even in Arsenal's INVINCIBLE season (2005), Bayern still kicked them out of the Champions League after a 3-1 win at home. (in case some people forgot: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013...n_2714823.html)


All these reactions are exaggerated. But yes, a new coach might bring a breeze of fresh air. It's just that, there aren't many coaches out there. They might want to persuade Jupp Heynckes not to retire after this season

It's not Wenger's fault as he's proven what he can do with a solid team behind him. The trouble with Arsenal is a lack of investment. They readily sell off their best players and replace them with mediocre ones.

The Gunners side last night was full of average players at best with a couple of classier ones in there, like Walcott, Cazorla and Wilshere. The rest don't have the same desire or confidence and are too quick to feel sorry for themselves when it starts to unravel.

As for the comment about the difference between Arsenal and United fans, it's a bit narrow-minded to apply one-time situations with a small group of each teams' supporters and then label on club's fans as gracious and the other club's fans as aggressive... but then I'm sure you're sensible enough to realise that and were probably just looking to stir up a reaction from United fans.

Given the bitterness towards United that you've shown in the past, it wouldn't surprise me if your celebratory antics were on an entirely different level in the aftermath of two games you referenced, hence the difference in reaction you received.

All right - I will answer the question in the OP.
Without a doubt:

FC BAYERN MÜNCHEN



Yes, indeed, they're still the last team to have won it 3 times in a row! And one of 3 teams ONLY who were allowed to keep the real trophy!